Philadelphia Ry Co v. Hancock

Decision Date01 June 1920
Docket NumberNo. 415,415
PartiesPHILADELPHIA & R RY. CO. v. HANCOCK
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Messrs. George Gowen Parry and Charles Heebner, both of Philadelphia, Pa., for plaintiff in error.

Mr. Hannis Taylor, of Washington, D. C., for defendant in error.

Mr. Justice McREYNOLDS delivered the opinion of the Court.

The judgment below affirmed an award for respondent under the Workmen's Compensation Act of Pennsylvania (Act June 2, 1915 [P. L. 736]), granted because of the death of her husband from an accident while in the petitioner's employ as a trainman.

After a writ of error had been sued out we allowed a writ of certiorari. 250 U. S. 658, 40 Sup. Ct. 54, 63 L. Ed. 1193. The former must be dismissed; the case is properly here upon the latter.

If, when the accident occurred, the husband was employed in commerce between states, the challenged judgment must be reversed, and he was so employed if any of the cars in his train contained interstate freight. Employers' Liability Act April 22, 1908, c. 149, 35 Stat. 65 (Comp. St. §§ 8657-8665); St. L., S. F. & Tex. Ry. v. Seale, 229 U. S. 156, 161, 33 Sup. Ct. 651, 57 L. Ed. 1129, Ann. Cas. 1914C, 156; New York Central & Hudson River R. R. Co. v. Carr, 238 U. S. 260, 35 Sup. Ct. 780, 59 L. Ed. 1298; New York Central R. R. Co. v. Winfield, 244 U. S. 147, 37 Sup. Ct. 546, 61 L. Ed. 1045, L. R. A. 1918C, 439, Ann. Cas. 1917D, 1139; New York Central R. R. Co. v. Porter, 249 U. S. 168, 39 Sup. Ct. 188, 63 L. Ed. 536; Southern Pacific Co. v. Industrial Accident Commission (January 5, 1920) 251 U. S. 259, 40 Sup. Ct. 130, 64 L. Ed. ——.

The essential facts are not in controversy; the nature of the employment, therefore, is a question of law.

The duties of the deceased never took him out of Pennsylvania; they related solely to transporting coal from the mines. When injured he belonged to a crew operating a train of loaded cars from Locust Gap colliery to Locust Summit yard, two miles away. The ultimate destination of some of these cars was outside of Pennsylvania. This appeared from instruction cards or memoranda delivered to the conductor by the shipping clerk at the mine. Each of these referred to a particular car by number and contained certain code letters indicating that such car with its load would move beyond the state.

Pursuing the ordinary course these cars were hauled to Locust Summit yard and placed upon appropriate tracks; there the duties of the first crew in respect of them terminated. Later, having gathered them into a train, another crew moved them some 10 miles to Shamokin scales, where they were inspected, weighed, and billed to specifically designated consignees in another state. In due time they passed to their final destinations over proper lines. Freight charges at through rates were...

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